I have had my Makita for 5 years now. Has never let me down, always ran great, did everything I asked it to. I have to say it is a bit of a heavy beast. When I visited Autoality in Pittsburgh recently I got a chance to hold and inspect the Flex PE14-2 and I have to say I fell in love with it pretty quickly given its power/weight even though its a mere one pound less than the Makita, I also really like the ergonomics of the machine. Would it be worth selling my Makita and going for the Flex? or should I just stick with a great machine? I did search for this but didn't seem to catch any threads that fully answered, if there is one let me know! All thoughts are greatly appreciated. Chas
Todd Cooperrider recently wrote a article on the DI blog about this, basically I'm a maki user too and I bought it for the price. I've tried out a few flexs and their great, but I don't think it's worth the extra $100 upgrade to get the flex unless you do it for a living and really makes a big difference on your day to day ergonomics. But if you want to buy spoil yourself a bit and don't mind spending the extra cash then go for it, I'll probably get a new rotary only if mine burns out,
Good point, that's my biggest hold up, I have no complaints about the Makita and I don't do this full time. Plus it seems the versatility of a DA is really becoming a strong presence.
I used a makita for 10 years. Made the switch to flex as per ken's recommendation. I couldn't be happier. I have both flex rotaries, and they have both been great. I think I hgave had them 3 years now. The flex is smother and better balanced.
I don't use the new model, but I have tried it out. I have the other 2 rotaries. I notice the electronic speed regulator on the flex keeps the speed steady. The makita was more jumpy as the pressure was added and taken off the head. The new flex, other than the lightness has a slower start speed and is noticeably smoother than the larger older flex. The larger of the older flex models is still an upgrade in my opinion and is a lot cheaper than the new model.
I had the Makita 9227 and upgraded to the Flex PE14-2 last year and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The RPM range for correction work is far better than the Makita, I like knowing what speed I am polishing at and 14-2 lets me know exactly where I am, unlike the 9227 where you have to guestimate the RPM's your at. All in all its just is an easier to use rotary, its really smooth when operating and is actually a little quieter than the 9227. I like using it without the side handle and hold it buy the top of the polisher because that specific area was designed to be held if choose to use it without the side handle, and it also runs cooler than the 9227. Dave made this video on it in case your interested, it helped me make my decision. [video=youtube;oLE-eGGcwds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLE-eGGcwds[/video]
get the flex and keep the makita for larger pads if you like using large wool pads for compounding. I tried the Makita recently and own the PE14 and they are both nice as heck. Kinda a hard choice.
